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Descriptive Research (I)

Descriptive Research (I). Week 8 Lecture 1. Agenda. Quantitative Design issues Correlation Research Survey Research. Quantitative design issues. The language of variables and hypotheses Quantitative researchers redefine concepts of interest into the language of variables

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Descriptive Research (I)

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  1. Descriptive Research (I) Week 8 Lecture 1

  2. Agenda • Quantitative Design issues • Correlation Research • Survey Research ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  3. Quantitative design issues • The language of variables and hypotheses • Quantitative researchers redefine concepts of interest into the language of variables • Attributes: the values or the categories of a variable • Examples: • Male, married, number of years married • SSL, SET, PKI, security technology • Types of variables • Independent variable • Dependent variable ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  4. Quantitative design Issues • The language of variables and hypotheses • An expected but unconfirmed relationship between two or more variables • Where do hypotheses come from • Theory, direct observation,guess, intuition • Two different ways of stating a hypothesis • Looking for difference between variables • Looking for relationship between variables ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  5. Refinement of hypothesis • Problem or general hypothesis • You expect some children to read better than others because they come from homes in which there are positive values and attitudes to education. • Research hypothesis • Reading ability in nine-year-old children is related to parental attitudes towards education • Operational hypothesis • There is a significant relationship between reading ability for nine-year-old children as measured by standardized reading test X and parental attitudes to education as measured by attitude test Y ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  6. What is descriptive research • Identify the characteristics of an observed phenomenon • Explore possible correlations among two or more phenomena ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  7. Correlational Research • Examines the extent to which differences in one characteristic or variable are related to differences in one or more other characteristics or variables. • Gather data about two characteristics for a particular group of people or other appropriate units of study. ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  8. Example of correlational research Scattergram: dynamic relationship between age and reading level ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  9. Interpretation • Describe the homogeneity or heterogeneity of the two variables • Describe the degree to which the two variables are intercorrelated • Interpret these data and give them meaning. ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  10. Cautions about interpreting correlational results • Correlation does not, in and of itself indicate causation • One variable correlates meaningfully with another only when a common causal bond links the phenomena of both variables in a logical relationship ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  11. Survey research • General features • Large-scale probability sampling • A study on snipping behavior of online auction took 368 eBay bidders as respondents • Systematic Procedures: Interviews and questionnaires • Answers are numerically coded and analyzed with the aid of statistical software • Used extensively for both descriptive and explanatory purposes ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  12. Research questions appropriate for a survey • Developed within the positivist approach to social science • Self-reported beliefs or behaviors. • Ask many things, measure many variables and test several hypotheses in a single survey • Behavior • Attitudes/beliefs/opinions • Expectations • Self-classification • Knowledge ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  13. Step 1 Questionnaire design Develop hypotheses Decide on type of survey (mail, interview, telephone) Write survey questions Decide on response categories Design layout Step 2 Pilot test Plan how to record data Pilot test survey instrument Step 3 Sampling Decide on target population Get sampling frame Decide on sample size Select sample Step 4 Data collection Locate respondents Conduct interviews (distribute questionnaire) Carefully record data Step 5 Data analysis Enter data into computers Recheck all data Perform statistical analysis on data Step 6 Writing up Describe methods and findings in research report Present findings to others for critique and evaluation Steps in conduction a survey ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  14. Types of surveys • Self-administrated Questionnaires • Hand delivered • Mail survey • Web survey • Face-to-face and Telephone interviews • Structured interview • The researcher asks a standard set of questions and nothing more • Semi-structured interview • The researcher may follow the standard questions with one or more individually tailored questions to get clarification or probe a person’s reasoning ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  15. Questionnaire item styles • Open-ended question • Respondents answer in their own words • Closed-ended question • Respondents choose a response from those provided • Examples • What drives you to bid in the last minutes in a second-price auction? (OPEN) • Which one of the factors listed below drives you to bid in the last minutes? (CLOSE) • () Checking around if there are other auctions offering the same item • () Don’t want other bidders get benefit from my expertise of the auction item • () Avoid bidding war • () Other _____________(please explain) ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  16. Open vs. closed • Open-ended question • Great freedom for respondent to answer • Responses may be ambiguous • Coding is time-consuming and costly which usually results in some degree of error • Entail more work from respondents • Closed-ended question • Require less effort and less facility with words • Difficult to develop good closed questions • Recommendation for designing closed-end question: use open questions in preliminary interviews or pretests ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  17. Ranking and scaling • Rank-ordering questions • Rating scale questions • Respondents are asked to indicate the degree of their agreement or disagreement with a statement ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  18. Using language effectively • Are the items unambiguous, easily read and sufficiently brief • Avoid indefinite words such as “usually”, “seldom”, “many”, “few”, “here”, “there” • Avoid false premises ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  19. Using language effectively(II) • Avoid double-barreled question – two separate ideas are presented together as a unit • The system is easy to use and helpful • Avoid overlapping or unbalanced response categories. ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  20. Questionnaire design issues • Length of survey or questionnaire • Question order or sequence • Opening, middle and ending questions • Group questions on the same topic together. • Order effect • Format and Layout • Noresponse • The percentage of people who have and have not consented to participate • Those who agreed or refused to be interviewed • Those who have or have not returned questionnaire ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  21. Question order effect ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  22. Analyzing one variable • Univariate frequency distribution ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  23. Being critique on survey results • The items to include when reporting survey research • The sampling frame used • The date on which the survey was conducted • The population that the sample represents • The size of the sample for which information was collected • The sampling methods • The exact wording of the questions asked • The method of the survey • The organizations that sponsored the survey • The response rate • Any missing information or “don’t know” responses when results on specific questions are reported ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

  24. Summary • Quantitative design issues • Language of variables and hypotheses • Correlational research • Scattergram and it’s interpretation • Survey research • Steps • Different types of survey • Design of questionnaire • Preliminary analysis of survey data ISYS3015 Analytical Methods for IS Professionals School of IT, The University of Sydney

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